Fat Happens: Part 3 (Patreon)

Morning the next day came far too soon for Miri's liking as she drowsily slammed on the snooze button multiple times before forcing herself to move far enough to hit the "off" switch then flop back into bed and burying herself under her thick, fluffy blanket.
She laid there for what only seemed like minutes as she dreaded her upcoming run, though not because she hated running. The morning run meant that she would have to force herself away from the warmth and comfort of her bed and into the bright and somewhat chilly morning air. Half asleep, she pondered the contents of her pantry, unexcited for a tiny breakfast that she knew would leave her unsatisfied, made from a bunch of things she wasn't particularly excited to eat. She thought about the previous day and how famished her previous run had left her and how she needed something more substantial than a candy bar, no matter how many peanuts it had in it. Frustrated and sleepy, eyes opened for only a few seconds as she weighed the issues of her hunger and unwillingness to cook.

Defeated by the decreasingly comfortable room temperature and inability to fall back into a deep sleep, Miri sighed and said out loud to no one in particular "Whatever. Fuck it, I'm up. I need to get out of bed."

Nearly the moment she slid her legs over the bed and stroked the tangled, tousled hair out of her face, she heard a loud knock at the door followed by a female voice.

"Hey! Wake the hell up!" Called the probably-Megan’s voice from the front porch.

"Oh shit," Miri mumbled as she looked over at the red digits displayed on her alarm clock. The clock read 9:48, nearly two and a half hours after the alarms she had set and the second time in a row she'd woken up late for her exercises.

Skipping any form of stretching, the short Asian tossed on the running clothes she'd worn the previous day and ambled over to the door where her friend was indeed waiting.

"God dammit, I am SO sorry," she began.
"I set my alarm for 7:30 but it must not have gone off or something."

Megan stepped inside wearing a set of fairly loose, but large dark jogging sweats with a matching top. Miri estimated that they could fit two of her and still be loose, were she a bit taller.

"Don't even worry about it. I figured we'd end up leaving late, so I didn't bother to come over until just now. You didn't show up, so I figured you were still sleeping off a meal or something." Megan replied casually, as if she'd known Miri longer than the three weeks they'd been in contact.

Miri rolled her eyes as she brushed her hair.
"Because the only reason I could be tired is a big meal right?" She said with a hint of irritation in her voice.

Seemingly oblivious to Miri's offense, Megan responded mathematically, "Well no, but school hasn't started yet, you don't seem like a party animal, and judging from yesterday, you don't always seem to be aware of how much you're eating. You said before you were on a diet, so I just figured you binged and passed out afterward. Which is fine. I mean, I'm not judging you, and you can correct me if I'm wrong. That's just what I was thinking."

"No, I just fell asleep is all. And just because someone is on a diet doesn't mean they binge." Miri replied as she hastily put her shoes on, successfully sucking in her stomach to return it more or less to it's concave state.

Megan stood by the door, lazily stretching her strong, but fat-coated calves.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be mean or whatever. You just ate a lot at my place yesterday and from the looks of it, you have a hard time sticking to diet plans. But that's why we're doing this right? I wanna be active and you wanna control your gain?"

There it was again.
Miri thought about not responding to it this time around, but the urge to correct her larger friend was too much for her to swallow in her frustrated state.

"I'm not trying to 'control my gain,' Meg. I'm dieting and exercising so that I can slim back down." Miri said, taking control of the situation and attempting to put an optimistic face back on.

"Well, I don't know what you looked like as a teenager so I can't speak to that. But it sounds like even with your mom pushing you to diet and exercise you were still putting on weight before you got here. And that's okay, I mean...fat happens. You're gonna get bigger after a certain age. But if you're trying to lose a few pounds, we just need to keep you on track and pick up the pace!" Megan compromised, proud of herself for not lying to her friend while being supportive at the same time.

Miri half-sighed an exasperated "Yeah" as she bent over on the couch to tie her shoes, self-consciously feeling the small, squishy roll puffing out slightly over the elastic waistband of her gray running shorts despite her attempts to hide it.

(1)


The two girls locked up the house and started down the street at a pace that surprised Miri. She'd expected Megan to fall behind right out the gate or be gasping for air by the end of the block, but no such thing happened as they trotted past the first few housing tracts. Despite Megan's thick thighs and full, rounded belly, she kept pace remarkably well, and controlled her breathing as she ran as if she had been doing it for years. Miri was slightly disappointed after being the subject of weight related teasing the previous day that her much fatter friend was able to keep up with her so well. It was only after they finished their first mile that Miri saw signs of a genuine fatigue on her red haired friend's reddened cheeks. Miri herself was soaked in sweat and greatly lamenting her unconscious decision to stay asleep for so long as the sun beat down on the two of them, even further into the day than last time. Feeling exhausted and seeing the look on Megan's face, she decided to extend an olive branch.

"Need a breather?" She huffed to her right side.

"Do you?" Came the reply, which Miri happily noted sounded tired.

"I could keep going but you looked kinda tired, so yeah" she puffed.
"I'm actually impressed you kept up this long."

Megan smiled at the statement.
"Why's that?"

"I just didn't take you for an athlete is all." Miri said, slowing down to match Megan as she began to fall behind.

"Miri Seok, are you calling me fat?" Megan asked playfully.

"I'm just saying that my beautiful coach carries her weight unexpectedly well."
Miri teased, grinning as she finally got herself to be on the other end of some light-hearted teasing.

"Well then!" Megan laughed.
"I guess my chubby trainee can use those thunder thighs to carry her another mile or two!"

(2)

"Only if you can keep up!" Replied the winded Asian girl.


The two continued jogging only for another minute or so before it became less jogging and more a bouncing power walk, and finally A slow, leisurely stroll as they came up on the local mall, stopping short of 2 miles in.  

They mutually slowed and began chatting about their majors in school and how they liked living on their own. Megan had only moved three months prior and had made several friends around town, but none that she consistently hung out with as much as she did with her roommate. She continued to talk about to her friendly, easy-going family as the two came to a local burger place to get some food.
As they stood in line, The two watched a busty, skinny brunette with narrow hips and an equally narrow waist taking orders and stealing chicken strips from under a heat lamp placed conveniently within her reach.

"Are they allowed to do that?" Miri asked, pausing her complaints about her overbearing mother and lack of siblings to acknowledge the chicken thief.

"That girl… Is going to get soo fat working here.." Megan stated, shaking her head.

(3)

"She already is. Her uniform is so stretched out it looks like it's going to split open at the top any day now," Miri observed cattily, accustomed to seeing largeness on even the most petite figures, including her own.

"Yeah, you're right," Megan concurred, now noticing the very beginnings of a muffin top around the cashier's belt.

(4)

Megan ordered A combo meal a burger and fries, choosing not to say anything about diets when her friend stopped her complaining only to order a deluxe chili cheese fry and a large soda before returning to stories about her mother's treatment of her.

Three quarters through the meal, Miri leaned back in her booth, feeling completely stuffed.
Regret began to set in as she looked at the mostly devoured pile of meat, grease, and potatoes in front of her.

"She would throw a fit at me if she saw me right now." Said the dark haired girl.

"Sounds to me like she's living vicariously through you," Megan said in a consoling, professional tone.
"Ever think that the reason why she pushes you to be thin is because she's fat too and doesn't want to be?"

Miri shrugged. She'd always known her mom was bigger than her, but never considered her to be fat. Still, the pressure to be perfect in every way made a lot of sense when it was put that way.


The walk back became entirely about what shows and hobbies the other liked and not at all about exercise. Both girls had a slow, food stuffed gait all the way back to their respective homes.
Megan hugged and said goodbye to her friend were going inside and Miri wandered home to catch up on neglected housework.

She spent the next couple days tending to her living space. Picking up furniture, buying dishes, and making sure she was set for school by jumping through hoops for registration.

Megan's theory about Miri's mother trying to live through her stuck with her, both easing her guilt about her slacking on exercise and justifying her anger at the hypocrite.
As she cleaned the house, she replayed arguments in her head detailing what she should have said and imagining her mom's failure to respond. At a heated moment in her pretend-victorious rant, Miri's phone buzzed, startling her and causing her heart to pound in her chest as she read her mother's text.

It read:
"Haven't seen you in a while and the house is empty without my baby. Like to visit soon, I have gifts for you. When is a good day to head down?
Mom"